The Masné krámy restaurant and the BUDVARKA concept have received the Czech and Moravian Beer Academy’s Annual Awards for 2017

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České Budějovice, 3rd May 2018 – On Thursday 19th April 2018, Czech and Moravian Beer Academy’s (CMBA) Annual Awards in 22 categories were officially presented at the Baroque Hall of the Moravian Gallery in Brno. This year, the leading brewing experts awarded two projects this year from Budweiser Budvar. The cult restaurant Masné krámy located in České Budějovice received the 2017 Annual Award in the category of “Brewery Restaurant not Located within the Brewery”, while the “Original Budvar Beer Restaurant” concept was successful in the "Best Concept of a Restaurant Chain” category.

“We would like to thank the members of the Academy for the votes in this year's poll. We are pleased that specialists were impressed by the very traditional and time-tested Masné krámy restaurant, and the very modern concept of BUDVARKA, which won the prestigious Red Dot Award on the one hand. It is great that the public perceives it in the same way, as both the Masné krámy and BUDVARKA restaurants rank among the most popular and successful facilities,” says Budweiser Budvar’s PR manager Petr Samec.

The history of the meat market and the Masné krámy restaurant (“Meat market” in English)

The meat market has been situated at its present location on Krajinská St. for more than 650 years. The original meat market was located on the present Přemysl Otakar II Square, being a complex of smaller wooden shops. It originated on the break of the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1364 (19th February), King Charles IV ordered pulling down this meat market owing to its bad hygiene and smell.A new suitable location was found on Krajinská St. - exactly where the Masné krámy restaurant is situated nowadays. The present building of a basilica ground-plan comes from about 1554.The western face of the building is in the Renaissance style with battlements, loop-holes on the attic gable and the gable formed by so-called swallow tails. The eastern face of the building was rebuilt in the early 1830’s. The twin-stone Renaissance portal is also original.The tall middle hall was intended for the public, while the sidelong lower halls were home to individual butcher shops.A limited butcher’s operation (slaughtering of small animals including calves) in the yard was maintained until 1899, when the meat processing was moved to the town slaughterhouse. Individual butcher shops were sold. Owing to its dilapidation, a demolition of the building was seriously considered after World War II. Fortunately, a contrary decision was taken, and the historical building was reconstructed into a restaurant according to J.Fidra’s design during 1953. On 1st October 1954, the Masné krámy restaurant was officially open to the public, quickly gaining popularity owing to its great cuisine and particularly first-class beer from the Budweiser Budvar Brewery. Following a flood in 2002, the restaurant was closed, re-opening on 5th December 2007.The reconstructed interior follows the tradition of the original restaurant as well as the historic character of the building. This is why architectural elements and traditional materials that support this historical style (solid oak, natural leather, black mat metal, patina copper) were chosen.The other interior fittings evoke the relation to history as well, having a simple and purposeful character.

About the BUDVARKA concept

The concept of BUDVARKA brand restaurants has won a prestigious Red Dot Award for a high quality design authored by the Czech IO Studio managed by the architect and designer Luka Križek. The first BUDVARKA brand restaurant was opened last March, and now there are three in operation. Other restaurants of this network are being prepared - BUDVARKA restaurants are going to be opened in Liberec and Zlín in the near future. BUDVARKA constitutes a modern chain of restaurants with a strong visual presence of the Budweiser Budvar brand. It is a place where people should feel comfortable and relaxed. Therefore, optimism with elements of humour is also an important component of the design concept. The flexible interior can be applied to different types of space ranging from historical to modern. From a practical point of view, the simplicity of assembling the designed furniture is very important. The BUDVARKA furnishing equipment is designed from many original elements that are greatly complemented by wooden chairs of the traditional Czech brand of TON. Emphasis was placed on using high quality natural materials in the interior. The BUDVARKA design concept also includes original menus, beer coasters, porcelain cutlery racks, porcelain beer coaster holders, seasoning and flavour enhancer holders and full exterior restaurant signs.

CMBA Annual Awards

The CMBA was established by the professional monthly magazine “Pivo, Bier & Ale”, the members being significant personalities of the Czech brewing industry. Based on a poll, the academy members granted the 2017 Annual awards in a total of 22 categories this year.